


The Woeful Tale of Weepy Woodam

by fir8008



Series: give the bruises out like gifts [7]
Category: Produce 101 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Gen, I promise there's fluff, but it gets better at the end, woodam cries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2019-01-01 04:28:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12148629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fir8008/pseuds/fir8008
Summary: Woodam’s hopes to have a good day are flushed down the toilet (along with the corpse of his goldfish, Mr. Sweet Potato, may he rest in peace)





	The Woeful Tale of Weepy Woodam

**Author's Note:**

> I finally succeeded in writing something that didn't get away from me and didn't get randomly very long! It's just a little interlude of poor Woodam and the other HF Music Company boys (dear hf music company, i no longer understand what your debut plans are for any of your trainees... please clarify) Title breaks my aesthetic but I love alliteration haha
> 
> (Also, I hope no one misunderstands it, having an asthma attack is a serious medical emergency and my inclusion of it in this fic is not meant to trivialize the situation, thank you for understanding) 
> 
> Takes place during Chapter Nine of "come on skinny love" 
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading!

Woodam wakes up to the sound of rain pelting his windows. Woodam wraps his blanket tighter around his body and sighs heavily. Rain means the bus to campus will be crowded and full of wet umbrellas. He’ll have to dig his own umbrella out of the closet. At least his umbrella will help cheer him up on this grey day since it’s yellow with a duck face. Woodam loves it despite Jinyoung’s insistence that it was a child’s umbrella and he gave it to Woodam as a gag gift and it was not intended for actual use in the rain. But Woodam thought it was a cute and thoughtful and functional gift so he used it. Anyway, everyone in the music department recognized him by it! 

Woodam rises from his bed and stretches, trying to shake all the negative associations with rain he has away. He’s determined to have a great day, despite the rain, and he’s going to start it like any other, by saying hello to his pet goldfish, Mr. Sweet Potato, and giving him his breakfast. 

And that’s when his day takes a turn for the worse, as Woodam lets out a scream as he comes face to face with Mr. Sweet Potato floating belly up in his little bowl. 

“Woodam? What’s wrong?” Yonggeun asks him from the door and Woodam just points miserably at his fishbowl as sobs overtake him. He collapses into Yonggeun’s arms as Yonggeun pats his head gently and assures him that Mr. Sweet Potato lived a good, long life and it was a happy one because Woodam so diligently tap fed him every day. 

Yonggeun is kind enough to gather their other roommates to hold a funeral for Mr. Sweet Potato and Woodam sobs as Yonggeun and Woncheol support him while Jinyoung offers to say a eulogy. (Woodam’s crying drowns out most of what Jinyoung says, which might be for the better because Woodam strongly suspects Jinyoung is just doing a rap from his upcoming mixtape because “you’ll all say Woo Jinyoung is crazy” doesn’t seem to have any bearing on the somber event at hand). Woncheol and Yonggeun continue to hold Woodam up as the ceremony ends with Jinyoung gently pouring Mr. Sweet Potato out into their toilet bowl and Woodam’s hopes to have a good day are flushed down the toilet along with the corpse of Mr. Sweet Potato, may he rest in peace. 

Woodam dresses slowly, putting together an all black ensemble for mourning, and picks up his bag and duck umbrella and leaves the apartment dispirited and sad. 

The funeral delayed Woodam’s departure, so he misses his regular bus and the next one is more crowded and Woodam is squashed between many people in damp raincoats and it’s a miserable ride to campus. When Woodam is finally freed from the claustrophobic confines of the bus, a strong gust of wind rips his yellow duck umbrella out of his hands and before Woodam knows it, it’s being crushed under the wheels of the departing bus and really how much death does Woodam have to witness in one day this hardly seems fair. 

Duck umbrella crushed - not unlike all of Woodam’s hopes and dreams - Woodam has to run holding his bag over his head to the music building and is thoroughly soaked by the time he gets there. The universe, not done with its taunting, then sees Woodam slipping in a puddle and falling splat on his bottom in front of his vocal technique professor and it’s horribly embarrassing since she stops to ask him if he’s okay and Woodam is trying so hard to not cry in front of her. He manages to succeed only to break down later in front of the music library photocopier when it refuses to print off his sheet music for his theory class and so he has to spend a ridiculous amount of time fighting with the dumb machine before it half heartedly spews out his pages. 

By the time Woodam’s day has ended and he has to go to his dance practice, he feels like it was him, not his poor duck umbrella, that was crushed under the bus this morning. He feels completely listless as he changes into his practice clothes, which are unfortunately damp from when he had to use his bag to shield himself from the rain. Insoo and Sangbin are already in the dance studio when Woodam gets there, and are already arguing about something or other. Sangbin frankly terrifies Woodam even though he hardly goes to their dance class or even the practice but when he does he tends to brood on his own. Woodam sits by the wall with Kiwon and Jaechan in a small act of voice major solidarity while Sangbin and Insoo continue to argue, about what Woodam has still yet to ascertain. 

“Are they always like that?” Kiwon whispers to Jaechan. 

Jaechan shrugs. “I guess? I don’t really know Sangbin hyung that well, but yeah, Insoo hyung’s really argumentative.” 

Woodam can see that clearly, since they don’t stop arguing, even when Jung Jung waltzes into the studio bringing with him an aura of sunshine and hope and kittens and everything still right with the world and Woodam blooms like the flowers in spring. Woodam is suddenly filled with wonderment and determination and a burning desire to work hard and pass this class because he needs to pass this class to graduate on time and if he doesn’t graduate on time he’ll probably just fail out of uni completely and he’ll end up living in a cardboard box and singing on the street trying to make enough money to support himself… 

And though Woodam tries valiantly to work hard, his lungs disagree with this, and so when his chest suddenly begins to feel tight and he starts to wheeze, Woodam is fumbling in his pockets for his rescue inhaler and Jung Jung is valiantly lifting Woodam onto his back and following a possibly more panicked than Woodam Insoo to the campus health center. Luckily, the rescue inhaler does it’s job (because really, on a day like today, something has to) and the nurse checks him over and finds to be Woodam in okay shape. Insoo offers to stay with him and Jung Jung waits until Woodam has successfully called Woncheol asking to be picked up to leave but of course gives Woodam a big warm hug that makes Woodam feel a little better about ruining their practice with his health crisis. 

Woodam waits with Insoo outside the nurse’s office and Insoo keeps looking over at him furtively like any moment Woodam will suddenly seize up again. Woodam wilts a bit under Insoo’s gaze because he certainly never intends to have asthma attacks, he actually does a fantastic job of trying to prevent them and his primary care physician would agree, so Woodam shrinks away from Insoo who isn’t even paying attention anymore and is instead texting on his phone. Woodam feels like this is also not acceptable, what if he really were to suddenly seize up again but Insoo was too busy texting someone to notice and Woodam just keeled over dead? Surely it would be inconvenient for Woodam to just die but it would probably be more inconvenient for Insoo to have to re-choreograph the entire dance for one less person, or maybe they’d leave his space empty as a tribute to his memory… 

“Woodam hyung, are you here?” 

Woodam turns when Woncheol enters, but Woncheol is bizarrely not looking at him - his hyung who has taken ill - and is instead looking past him at Insoo. When Woodam also turns to look, Insoo has looked up from his phone and is staring back at Woncheol. Woodam pouts at the atmosphere (and at the lack of attention he’s getting) as he squirms watching Woncheol and Insoo stare at one another. 

“Hi,” Woncheol says (to Insoo, not to Woodam and Woodam harrumphs to himself). “Uh. It’s been a long time.” 

“Uh, yeah,” Insoo replies, having lost all interest in both Woodam and his phone. “What are you doing here?” 

Woncheol suddenly remembers he has a poor sickly friend named Park Woodam as he awkwardly pivots towards him and gestures broadly in Woodam’s direction. “I’m picking up Woodam hyung. Uh. We’re roommates.” 

“Oh. I didn’t know you went here.” Insoo does not acknowledge the Woodam that he was once so concerned about.

“I don’t.” Woncheol uses his other arm to gesture broadly at the great stormy unknown. “I go to your rival university, actually.” 

“Oh, that explains that.” 

“Anyway, uh, I’m just here to pick up Woodam hyung, so I’ll uh, do that.” Woncheol finally turns his attention (though Woodam estimates it is only three quarters of his full attention) to Woodam and Woodam stands and Woncheol awkwardly puts his arm around Woodam’s shoulders and they begin walking out of the health center. “Uh. Bye? Insoo?” 

“Bye,” Insoo repeats. “Feel better, Woodam hyung.” 

Woodam manages a watery smile for Insoo, who has finally remembered him, as they leave. Woodam signs himself out of the health center and follows Woncheol back to his car. “Where’s your duck umbrella?” 

Woodam’s eyes immediately begin to water as he remembers the horror of watching his poor innocent duck umbrella being crushed under the bus and Woncheol panics. “Hey, hey, don’t get yourself overexcited, Jinyoung will buy you another one!” 

“It won’t be the same,” Woodam whimpers as he buckles himself into the passenger seat. 

“Then he’ll get you a different cute animal umbrella,” Woncheol promises. 

“Woncheolie, how do you know Insoo?” Woodam asks. 

Woncheol shrugs. “We don’t really know each other,” he says vaguely. “We went to the same high school for about a month and then he transferred out suddenly.” 

“Oh, well then you can surely reconnect,” Woodam says cheerily. “Since you recognized each other.” 

“Oh you know,” Woncheol shrugs again. “People grow apart, it’s been a really long time too.” 

Woodam is starting to feel weepy again watching Woncheol hedge his words. “Oh, Woncheolie, did you two have a big falling out?” 

“Not a big one,” Woncheol says and Woodam feels his eyes welling up with tears. “Hey, hey, don’t get yourself worked up,” Woncheol sighs. “It really wasn’t anything big.” Woodam’s eyes are still wet and shiny with the beginnings of tears so Woncheol pats him kindly on the head. “I will text Insoo and thank him for watching you today.” 

Woodam nods gratefully. “And maybe you two can make up and be friends again,” he says. Woncheol’s nod seems to indicate that won’t happen but he’ll say yes to anything Woodam says so Woodam lets him drive. The sky clears up as they get closer to the apartment and Woodam feels himself relaxing a bit. He figures the worst of his day has to be over by now. He’s back at home. 

And his terrible day is indeed over. Jinyoung and Yonggeun are both home, Jinyoung is bent over his music homework whining about how it’s too hard and he doesn’t want to do it and for Woodam hyung to please just do it for him but Woodam politely refuses saying Jinyoung has to do it himself. Jinyoung complains but Woodam just pats his fluffy fluorescent pink hair and goes to his room to unwind and change into snuggly pajamas. 

Yonggeun is cooking all of Woodam’s favorite dishes and Woodam hovers around him in the kitchen and does all of the tasting and is happy and content leaning on Yonggeun’s shoulder. When it’s finally time to eat, all four of them gather in their kitchen and Woodam gets to wail about his awful day and his roommates kindly indulge him and listen and tell him that tomorrow will surely be a better day. Woodam thinks he believes them as they settle in on the couch together to watch a movie and Jinyoung dozes on his shoulder, Woncheol fiddles with his phone, and Yonggeun offers Woodam his popcorn. 

Woodam thinks tomorrow definitely will be a better day.

**Author's Note:**

> You can follow me on Twitter @jy_kim8008 where I scream about fics and life


End file.
